Tricyclobutabenzene is an aromatic hydrocarbon consisting of a benzene core with three cyclobutane rings fused onto it. This compound and related compounds are studied in the laboratory because they are often displaying unusual conformations and because of their unusual reactivity. Tricyclobutabenzenes are isomers of radialenes and form an equilibrium with them.
The parent tricyclobutabenzene (C12H12) was first synthesised in 1979[1] by the following sequence:[2][3] This compound is stable up to 250 °C (482 °F).
A polyoxygenated tricyclobutabenzene with an extraordinary bond length of 160 pm for the bond connecting two carbonyl groups[1] by the following sequence:[4]
An ordinary bond of this type is only 148 pm and for comparison the C-C bond in isatin is 154 pm long. On the other hand, no change is recorded in the aromatic bond length alternation.
^Dodecamethoxy- and Hexaoxotricyclobutabenzene: Synthesis and Characterization Toshiyuki Hamura, Yousuke Ibusuki, Hidehiro Uekusa, Takashi Matsumoto, Jay S. Siegel, Kim K. Baldridge, and Keisuke Suzuki J. Am. Chem. Soc.; 2006; 128(31) pp 10032 - 10033; doi:10.1021/ja064063e